Wednesday June 3 Ag News

Natural Enzyme Examined as Antibiotics Alternative

Lysozyme, a naturally occurring antimicrobial enzyme, is used in food and beverage applications such as cheese- and wine-making. Now, it may also prove useful as an antibiotic alternative for improved feed efficiency and growth in pigs, according to studies by U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) scientists.

Their research coincides with ongoing debate over whether using antibiotics in this manner contributes to the emergence of resistant bacteria strains, threatening the compounds' availability and effectiveness as infection-fighters in both veterinary and human medicine. Antibiotic-resistant bacteria sicken more than 2 million people in the United States each year and kill over 23,000 directly.

Swine producers are currently under pressure to eliminate sub-therapeutic antibiotic use throughout the production cycle, according to William Oliver, a physiologist at USDA's Agricultural Research Service in Clay Center, Nebraska. Finding safe and effective alternatives to traditional antibiotics will give swine producers viable options in the event the antibiotics are removed from use, he added.

Oliver and his ARS and university colleagues began investigating lysozyme in 2010. In a recently published trial conducted at Clay Center, they compared the growth rates and weight gains of two groups of 600 piglets placed on one of three diet regimens: a standard feed regimen of corn/soybean meal and specialty protein, a second regimen of the same with lysozyme added, and a third containing the antibiotics chlortetracycline and tiamulin hydrogen fumarate rather than the lysozyme.

The groups were also kept in weaning pens that had either been disinfected or left uncleaned since the last group of animals had occupied them. The latter was done to stimulate chronic, or long-term, immune activity, including the production of cytokines, which divert nutrients away from growth in swine and result in slower weight gain.

The results showed that piglets on lysozyme- or antibiotics-treated feeds grew approximately 12 percent faster than untreated pigs--even in uncleaned pens, suggesting that the treatments successfully ameliorated the effects of indirect immune challenge in the animals.

Read more about this research in AgResearch magazine.



Competition Heats Up as Formula SAE Races to Lincoln

More than 250 universities from around the world will showcase and race their custom Formula-style cars at Lincoln Airpark June 17-20 during the Formula SAE series.

The Nebraska Ethanol Board is a proud supporter of the Husker Motorsports team, which races on E85 (85 percent ethanol and 15 percent unleaded gasoline). Formula SAE combustion teams have the choice of using either E85 or unleaded gasoline.

“We run E85 because it is a part of Nebraska's culture and we like to represent our state well at competitions,” said Charles Lee, Husker Motorsports member. “There is an additional technical benefit of E85 having an extremely high octane rating.”

Husker Motorsports is advised by University of Nebraska-Lincoln Lecturer William Dick and comprised of the following engineering students: Sam Buller, Lincoln, Neb.; Dylan Hall, Newcastle, Neb.; Greg Lantz, Lincoln, Neb.; Charles Lee, Omaha, Neb.; Andrew Lewis, West Des Moines, Iowa; Daniel Marymee, Houston, Texas; Jarrad Murrish, Kearney, Neb.; James Peck, Hancock, Mich.; Brad Shaner, Lincoln, Neb.; Cody Thompson, Lincoln, Neb.; Miles Wynn, Albion, Neb.; Cody Voris, Omaha, Neb; Jake Culey, Kearney, Neb.; Daniel Widdershoven, Omaha, Neb.; and Steven Christy, Lincoln, Neb.

“We are very fortunate that the competition moved to Lincoln several years ago, which led to the formation of our team and provides great opportunities for our members,” Lee said. “We are proud to represent Nebraska and UNL by going head to head with some of the country's top universities.”

In addition to the competition, there will be a meet and greet with Dan Schwartzkopf, former National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) drag racer, June 17 from 1-4 p.m. at the main Airpark tent.

Schwartzkopf, who raced more than 15 years, was the first producer of race ethanol provided to the Indy Racing League. He has been promoting ethanol as a performance fuel since 1992, and continues to work as a fuel tech for Ethanol Performance Fuel and other venues.

“Ethanol is cleaner-burning with higher octane allowing it to compete with all race fuels while reducing emissions,” Schwartzkopf said. “Ethanol is competitive in several ways: it costs less, performance is equal or better than unleaded gasoline, non-toxic octane booster for high-compression engines, and it’s healthier for the driver and the environment.”



Time to Reform Crop Insurance

Today, the Center for Rural Affairs announced the launch of an initiative aimed at reforming federal crop insurance programs.

“Here at the Center, we’ve heard from farmers across the Midwest and Great Plains about the negative impacts of federally subsidized crop insurance for over a decade,” said Traci Bruckner, Senior Policy Associate at the Center for Rural Affairs. “A farm safety net is important to help family farmers mitigate risks, but there are real concerns with the current crop insurance program.”

According to Bruckner, the federal government subsidizes crop insurance, paying 62% of premiums, on average, in 2012. Insurance policies are sold and completely serviced through 19 approved private insurance companies. Not only does the federal government pay the majority of producers’ premiums on every single acre, regardless of how large they are or how much money they make, insurance companies’ losses are also reinsured by USDA. In addition, the federal government reimburses the insurance company’s administrative and operating costs. In total, these insurance companies have lobbied and negotiated for guaranteed profits approaching a 14 percent return on their investment.

“The current government subsidized crop insurance program is working against the very farmers we all believe deserve a safety net,” Bruckner added. “The program is not transparent, props up private insurance company profits, and puts our natural resources at risk.”

Moreover, unlimited crop insurance subsidies result in mega-farms driving up land costs, driving their smaller neighbors out of business, and barring the next generation of family farmers from even getting a start, Bruckner concluded.



TWO PROBABLE CASES OF HPAI IN SAC AND HAMILTON COUNTIES

The Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship is responding to two probable cases of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) in Sac and Hamilton counties.  The Department has quarantined the premise and once the presence of the disease is confirmed, all birds on the property will be humanely euthanized to prevent the spread of the disease.

Sac 8 – Turkey farm with an estimated 40,000 birds that has experienced increased mortality.  Initial testing showed it positive for H5 avian influenza.  Additional confirmatory testing is pending from the APHIS National Veterinary Services Laboratories (NVSL) in Ames.

Hamilton 3 – Turkey farm with an estimated 19,600 birds that has experienced increased mortality.  Initial testing showed it positive for H5 avian influenza.  Additional confirmatory testing is pending from the APHIS National Veterinary Services Laboratories (NVSL) in Ames.

USDA Update
A large incinerator at Cherokee landfill is currently operational and processing approximately seven loads a day in the start-up phase.  Adjustments are being made to increase capacity. Waste containers from affected sites are being moved to two landfills and the incinerator at Cherokee, with 16 containers moved on Monday.  Additional trucks are being added to the operation.



Iowa Learning Farms June Webinar on Cover Crops

The regular monthly Iowa Learning Farms webinar for June will be Wednesday, June 17, at 1 p.m. This month’s guest speaker is Sarah Carlson, who will talk about the latest work on cover crops.

Carlson will discuss some of the research that she has been involved with at Practical Farmers of Iowa where she is the Midwest cover crop research coordinator. She will present information on seeding cover crops earlier in the summer. She also will talk about the findings from the Iowa Cover Crop Working Group’s long-term on-farm rye cover crop research. The study is a side-by-side trial on 10 farms across the state, using rye cover crops in the same fields since 2009. Soil carbon, infiltration, nitrogen and pH as well as yield data were collected.

As Midwest cover crop research coordinator at PFI, Carlson helps transfer agronomic research about cover crops through articles, blogs and presentation materials while working to improve the support for cover crop research. She also is an agronomist on the PFI staff, transferring ideas for solutions to integrated crop and livestock concerns from farmers’ stories, results from on-farm research and demonstration projects, and her own knowledge. Carlson earned a bachelor’s degree in biology and geography from Augustana College in Rock Island, Ill. Following graduation she joined the Peace Corps and lived in Ecuador for more than two years serving as an ag business and ag extension volunteer. In 2008, she earned a master’s degree in sustainable agriculture and crop production/physiology from Iowa State University.

The ILF webinars are held on the third Wednesday of each month at 1 p.m. They are free and all that is needed to participate is a computer with Internet access. To log in, go to https://connect.extension.iastate.edu/ilf/ at 1 p.m. on the afternoon of the webinar and log in through the guest option. Webinar participants will be able to converse with the presenters by typing their questions through the chat function. The webinar will be recorded and archived on the ILF website for viewing at any time at http://www.extension.iastate.edu/ilf/Webinars/.



Iowa State University Research Farm Summer Field Days Focus on Crops

Iowa State University Research and Demonstration Farms summer field days begin June 23 with a variety of topics focused on crop production.

Anyone is welcome to attend Iowa State field days, which take place rain or shine.

Field day topics cover corn and soybean production, including insect and weed management, soil fertility, tillage systems, water quality, planting dates, crop population, manure management and value-added crops.

On June 23, the Southeast Research and Demonstration Farm near Crawfordsville will begin its field day at 1 p.m. The farm is located at 3115 Louisa-Washington Rd., Crawfordsville; or 1.75 miles south and 2 miles east of Crawfordsville on the Washington/Louisa county-line road.

On June 24, the field day at the Northeast Research and Demonstration Farm near Nashua will begin at 1 p.m. The research farm is located at 3321 290th St., Nashua. After taking the Nashua exit off of Highway 27 (218), go 1.2 miles west on Highway B60, one mile south on Windfall Avenue (gravel) and 0.2 miles east on 290th Street.

The Northern Research and Demonstration Farm’s field day will begin at 9 a.m. June 25 with a meal at noon. The farm is located at 310 S. Main St., Kanawha.

The Northwest Research and Demonstration Farm, near Sutherland, will have its field day at 10 a.m. July 8 with a meal at noon. The farm is located at 6320 500th St.,
Sutherland; or 11 miles north of Cherokee on U.S. Highway 59 and a quarter mile east on County Road B-62.

The list of remaining field days scheduled for the year is available at http://farms.ag.iastate.edu/field-days.



NPPC To 'Key Vote' House TPA Vote

The National Pork Producers Council today announced its intention to score the vote on Trade Promotion Authority in the U.S. House of Representatives as a "key vote."

“Periodically, NPPC will score members of Congress on their votes on issues and legislation that are of paramount importance to the livelihoods of America’s pork producers. These scores then will be made public so voters have this information when determining the candidate of their choice in the next election."

TPA defines U.S. negotiating objectives and priorities for trade agreements and establishes consultation and notification requirements for the president to follow throughout the negotiation process. Once trade negotiators finalize a deal, Congress gets to review it and vote yes or no – without amendments – on it. Congress has granted TPA to every president since 1974, with the most recent law being approved in August 2002 and expiring June 30, 2007.

The key reason TPA is needed, Prestage said, is for concluding the Trans-Pacific Partnership negotiations among the United States and 11 Pacific Rim countries.

According to Iowa State University economist Dermot Hayes, the TPP deal would be the most significant commercial opportunity ever for U.S. pork producers, generating more than 10,000 pork industry jobs.

“U.S. trade negotiators will have the final leverage they need to close the TPP negotiations when Congress passes TPA,” said Prestage. “It will allow nations to cut to their bottom line negotiating position in TPP.”

Since 1989 – the year the United States began using bilateral and regional trade agreements to open foreign markets – pork exports have increased 1,550 percent in value and 1,268 percent in volume. The United States shipped more than $6.6 billion of pork to international destinations in 2014. The U.S. pork industry exports more pork to the 20 countries with which the United States has free trade agreements than to the rest of the nations combined.

Prestage said that “each and every one of the free trade agreements that got us that tremendous growth in exports were made possible by the enactment of Trade Promotion Authority bills. That is why NPPC and virtually every other agricultural organization in the United States are in favor of Congress expeditiously moving TPA legislation.”

Failure to pass TPA, noted Prestage, would send a signal to the world that the United States is turning its back on the Asia-Pacific region – the fastest growing area in the world – and allowing other countries to write the rules for international trade.

“The U.S. pork industry, U.S. agriculture, indeed the entire U.S. economy needs TPA, and we need it soon,” said Prestage. "And if House lawmakers vote against TPA, we'll hold them accountable."



Informa Sees Winter Wheat at 1.48 BB
Firm Boosts Brazil, Argentina Soybean Crops Estimates
Private analytical firm Informa Economics pegged U.S. winter wheat production at 1.48 billion bushels, 9 million bushels higher than USDA's latest estimate and 103 million bushels above last year.

Informa estimates the average winter wheat yield at 43.8 bushels per acre, 1.2 bpa higher than last year.

Hard red winter wheat production is forecast to total 867 million bushels, 14 mb higher than USDA's May forecast, with a national average yield of 36.1 bpa. That'd be 2.5 bpa higher than last year if realized.

Informa estimates soft red winter wheat production at 411 mb, which is 44 mb lower than last year's production due to reduced acreage. White wheat production is estimated at 202 mb, which would be 8 mb higher than last year if realized.

Brazil and Argentina's soybean production forecasts were also increased in Informa's world crop report. It now sees Brazil farmers harvesting 95.5 million metric tons of soybeans, 1 mmt above Informa's forecast last month. Argentina is forecast to produce 60 mmt, also up 1 mmt.

Argentina's corn harvest forecast was also revised 1 mmt higher to 25 mmt. Ninety percent of Argentina's corn is mature, and harvest is about halfway finished, the report stated.

USDA will release its next Crop Production and World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates on Wednesday, June 10, at 11 a.m. CDT.



National Ag Genotyping Center Highlights Market Development
In today's agricultural environment of uncertain commodity prices, input costs and research funding, market development is critical. Last week, USDA Deputy Secretary Krysta Harden and U.S. Senator Heidi Heitkamp visited the Fargo, N.D., site of the National Agricultural Genotyping Center to draw attention to the importance agricultural business development plays in maintaining a strong U.S. agricultural industry.

Sen. Heitkamp, a member of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, has been working hard on behalf of agriculture to support crop production and genomics research programs. Deputy Secretary Harden views the center as a possible model for future public-private partnerships.

"New businesses drive innovation and offer choices to farmers," said NCGA Director of Research and New Uses Rick Vierling, Ph.D. "The National Agricultural Genotyping Center was created to provide farmers, researchers and companies with cost effective, relevant, and breakthrough technologies. NCGA wants to be at the forefront in creating economic opportunities for corn farmers." 

The National Ag Genotyping Center, a non-profit initiative founded by NCGA and Los Alamos National Laboratory, will focus on the areas of production agriculture, food safety, functional foods, bioenergy and national security. Lab construction is scheduled to be completed in late summer.



AFIA Surprised by VFD Recordkeeping Requirements; Gives Insight on Antibiotic Stewardship Program

Richard Sellers, American Feed Industry Association senior vice president of legislative and regulatory affairs, joined animal and health industry stakeholders Tuesday at the "White House Forum on Antibiotic Stewardship" hosted by the Obama Administration. The forum brought together key constituencies involved with the National Antibiotic Stewardship Program and announced the groups' commitment to implement changes and education during the next five years in an effort to combat antibiotic resistance.

"AFIA and the feed industry have been committed from the very inception of the Veterinary Feed Directive as the feed manufacturers have an important role in delivering safe medicated feed to the livestock producer. As the role of VFD expands, our commitment only strengthens," said Sellers.

During the meeting, a major government rulemaking came to fruition. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration released the final VFD rule--a large piece of FDA's plan to promote judicious use of medically important antibiotics in food-producing animals. The regulations revise the requirements for a VFD from a licensed veterinarian for medications and the responsibilities of the feed manufacturer when fulfilling the VFD.

"AFIA was a principal author of the original VFD provision in the Animal Drug Availability Act of 1996 and I have seen it come from its roots in 1995 to the announcement made at the White House today," said Sellers following the event. "The final rule shows many improvements for the industry that will make the process more effective and timely."

"At 100-plus pages, we have much to review, but at first glance we noticed the recordkeeping timeline is still a two-year requirement," Sellers said. "That's a concern, as we believed we had convinced FDA the two-year requirement should be reduced to one year to agree with the one-year recordkeeping requirement that appears in the Current Good Manufacturing Practices regulations (Title 21, C.F.R., Part 225)."

Sellers also noted the White House announcement Tuesday of a new plan to buy food for federal agencies from sources that utilize responsible antibiotic-use policies is "premature given FDA's judicious-use antibiotic policy doesn't go into full effect until December 2016, when animal drug sponsors remove production claims from approved animal drugs."

"The memorandum announced yesterday sends the wrong message to both our trading partners and consumers," said Sellers. "It also focuses in on hormone-free products--which have not previously been part of the antibiotic discussion--and appears to imply hormone-free products are safer and should be preferred by consumers because the federal government, including our president, use them. However, FDA has made no announcements regarding any safety concerns about hormones approved for use in animals."

AFIA will evaluate the final rule and continue to work with AFIA members to implement the changes appropriately in the timeframe provided.

AFIA, with partners Feedstuffs and Elanco Animal Health, will host a webinar detailing the changes in the VFD final rule in the very near future. FDA has been invited to participate in the online event.



USDA Extends Deadline to Submit Proposals on New Organic Promotion Order to July 20, 2015

The United States Department of Agriculture's Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) is extending a deadline by 30 days to allow members of the public to submit alternative proposals or partial proposals on a new industry-funded promotion, research and information order for organic products. The new order would be developed under the Commodity Promotion, Research, and Information Act of 1996 (1996 Act).

AMS received a number of requests from organic stakeholders for additional time and will accept proposals or partial proposals until July 20, 2015. AMS originally announced that it would accept proposals until June 19, 2015.

The agency will consider submissions before publishing a proposed Organic Promotion, Research and Information Order that would create an industry-funded research and promotion program for organic products under the 1996 Act.

Proposals may be submitted to Organic Promotion, Research, and Information Order; Room 3071-S, STOP 0201; Agricultural Marketing Service, USDA; 1400 Independence Avenue, SW.; Washington, D.C. 20250-0201; telephone number (202) 720-5115. AMS is only seeking proposals or partial proposals. Comments on the submitted proposal or any other aspect of an organic research and promotion program will not be considered. Interested parties will have full opportunity to submit comments when AMS publishes a proposed order.



USDA Dairy Products April 2015 Highlights

Total cheese output (excluding cottage cheese) was 979 million pounds, 1.9 percent above April 2014 but 1.7 percent below March 2015.  Italian type cheese production totaled 428 million pounds, 2.5 percent above April 2014 but 2.1 percent below March 2015.  American type cheese production totaled 389 million pounds, 2.3 percent above April 2014 but 0.3 percent below March 2015.  Butter production was 165 million pounds, 1.7 percent below April 2014 but 0.3 percent above March 2015.

Dry milk powders (comparisons with April 2014)
Nonfat dry milk, human - 181 million pounds, up 13.1 percent.
Skim milk powders - 34.5 million pounds, down 30.9 percent.

Whey products (comparisons with April 2014)
Dry whey, total - 77.4 million pounds, up 8.1 percent.
Lactose, human and animal - 89.3 million pounds, down 4.4 percent.
Whey protein concentrate, total - 42.0 million pounds, down 8.7 percent.

Frozen products (comparisons with April 2014)
Ice cream, regular (hard) - 66.9 million gallons, down 5.1 percent.
Ice cream, lowfat (total) - 41.0 million gallons, up 1.2 percent.
Sherbet (hard) - 3.67 million gallons, down 9.8 percent.
Frozen yogurt (total) - 6.94 million gallons, up 6.5 percent.